Universally Acceptable Behavior 8: BLOOD

This time I'm writing about blood, not water anymore. Though, to be honest, we humans – like little cucumbers – still remain creatures of water.
🩸 Why blood?
Because it's a very basic thing: blood, bones, nerves, muscles… All of this is inside us and runs our lives. No matter how smart, knowledgeable, emotional, popular, leadership-oriented, generous, etc. we are – all of it stems from these simple (well, maybe not entirely simple, but basic) systems.
I want to talk specifically about blood donation – giving blood. Yes, everyone knows it saves lives. And that blood transfusions happen millions of times daily in large countries, fewer in smaller ones, but still a huge number.
​But… not everyone knows what it gives to the donors themselves. Especially in countries where no perks, money, or anything else is given for such an act – where it's considered completely altruistic, voluntary action.

🩺 So why do I do it?
And again – starting with how I got to this and why I do it at all.
1. When – 2018–2019, somewhere in that period.
2. Why – because I read about :D the older-days "treatment" of people with mental illnesses by bleeding them (there were even worse ideas, really). And then – about treating any diseases exactly in the same way. And it turns out this was almost paracetamol-level method. It fit everything, was used for anything, almost any illness or disorder. If something wrong – boom, bleed the person, and they should improve. Seriously, they applied it almost in every case.
3. I'm a trans person, and in reality in Lithuania, for example, no one would take my blood :D Well, unless you didn't say how it is. Though cis people use hormones too – say, during menopause – and that's considered completely normal. But all this also pushed me to go check if my "juices" are really suitable in UK clinics :D
4. And anyway… since teenage years I've liked vampire stories. Around sixteen we watched "Interview with the Vampire" in the cinema, and after that for a week or so I walked in the footsteps of that film in my imagination – replaying dialogues, moods, meaning.

💉 How it went in practice?
I went, donated – liked it. Went again. Then there was a break: after all the changes in a new country, I mentioned heart palpitations for the centre stuff, they told me to get checked. After the tests there was another "lost in translation" moment, so I had to go back undrained.
But later everything resumed, and now I've given about 14 times. I have a 10-times badge that I wear on my coat.

❤️ Real benefits experienced
I don't know… I put all the benefits in the visuals. But what else I can mention – after donating blood, on the second or third day (because the first day life is a bit slower), a surge of energy comes. Cosmic. Speed, focus, sensations, lightness, drive… Wow.
At first it was even hard to hold myself back :D but later I got used to that effect.

Give blood, people.
It's an eternally proven panacea.
(Well, of course, if you can donate – not everyone can.)

Once you try it, you’re hooked